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Macally PHR-250CC FireWire/USB 2.0 2.5-Inch IDE Hard Drive Enclosure | List Price: $46.99
Discount Price: $29.99
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Brand: Macally
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - Small, slim, and portable hard drive enclosure features fast USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 connectivity
- Solid aluminum body offers excellent protection and heat dissipation
- Accepts 2.5-inch IDE hard drive
- Offers fast USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 transfer rates
- One year warranty
Don't buy the wrong version - this is not for recent SATA drives [Posted on 2008-05-04]
This is NOT the right unit for a so-called SATA drive such as is found in recent Mac notebooks. Unless you are an expert you may not realize this and have to send it back - it only fits the older IDE drives. There is a different box by Macally which starts SPHR... Wish Amazon would explain this more clearly for non-geeks. I'm giving it one star because of the poor description.
Notebook hard drive enclosure [Posted on 2008-07-05]
It is the perfect external hard drive enclosure. You have both the USB 2.0 interface and the firewire interface.
This is the enclosure to buy older Mac laptop drives [Posted on 2008-07-08]
QUALIFICATIONS
This enclosure will fit standard 2.5" laptop drives of the older IDE or PATA (parallel ATA) variety. For Macs, that means most of the iBook and Powerbook G3 & G4 drives will work. Do not buy this enclosure if you have a drive that came out of any of the newer MacBooks; they use the newer SATA (serial ATA) technology, for which Macally has another product.
WHY BUY AN ENCLOSURE?
Why would anyone want to buy a hard drive enclosure that doesn't include a hard drive? Mainly because you already have an extra internal drive and you need the enclosure to make the internal drive function as an external drive.
Most people end up with homeless internal drives for two reasons: (1) they got a good deal online and couldn't pass it up, or (2) they upgraded their laptop's main hard drive, leaving the old internal drive as a castoff.
Instead of letting your old internal drive collect dust, give it new life by sticking it into an enclosure. You can then continue using it as a backup drive, perhaps.
REVIEW
I love this enclosure because it looks cool, it's very small, it includes both USB and Firewire 400, and it doesn't require a power supply. And, it was super easy to set up with my old internal drive.
Looks -- the aluminum case looks great, especially because it matches my PowerBook G4. I also like its small size and cool blue light that blinks as the hard drive is used. The drive includes a nicely snug fabric case (feels like soft vinyl). The drive+case+cable should have no problem fitting in even the smallest computer case or backpack.
Installation -- If you buy a new 2.5" PATA/IDE drive without a case, then it will be a breeze installing it in this enclosure. All you do is undo a few screws and you're in. You slide the drive onto a chassis with loads of pin connectors that line up nicely, slide it all back together and redo the screws. That's it.
-- if, like me, you bought a replacement internal drive for your laptop, then you'll first have to swap out the old drive. On some laptops, like mine, this is a difficult and long task, requiring patience and advance prep. Advice for iBooks and Powerbooks can be found at http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/.
-- once you've done the swap, installation of your old drive into the enclosure is a breeze in comparison. It literally takes just a few minutes.
Functionality -- my old 80gb internal drive runs great in the enclosure. It spins up fast and always mounts on my desktop in just a few seconds. The old drive sounds a bit louder than it used to, probably because it's no longer buried deep inside my laptop. I really like the on-off switch that most other enclosures do not include. Another huge benefit of this drive is that it doesn't require an external power adapter.
-- if you're using firewire, the enclosure gets all its power through the firewire cable (included)
-- if you're using USB (older iBooks, perhaps), you'll need 2 free USB ports because USB carries less power than firewire. Luckily, the enclosure also includes the 2 USB cables that you'll need: 1 cable goes from computer USB to enclosure mini USB; the other cable goes from computer USB to enclosure power port. Sounds kind of clunky, but hey, it works... and you still don't need to carry around a heavy power brick.
I researched a lot of competing products and decided it was worth paying a few extra dollars to get a quality drive that includes all the features that I value.
Highly Recommended [Posted on 2008-09-13]
I had replaced my old hard drive in my iBook and still wanted to use the old hard drive as a back up. Found this product, purchased it and when it arrived it was the easiest to set up and use. Installed my old hard drive in the enclosure, plugged it in and turned it on. It just worked. Great product.
expensive, but top-notch product [Posted on 2008-09-22]
I recommend this if you want the best possible product. The case is light weight but very sturdy. It is very stackable with rubber strips to prevent movement and firewire to set up a series of bacups. Top notch, would buy again.
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